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Roberto Martínez and Everton head to Arsenal and a familiar hurdle
José Mourinho says it is up to Tim Sherwood to retain Tottenham job
Tan's son his eyes and ears at Cardiff
Sherwood craves credit for Spurs job
Van Persie settled at United and not planning move, says Moyes
Wilshere is 'too brave', says Wenger
Hull's Steve Bruce banks on FA Cup repeat of the winning kind
Melbourne Victory fail to impress but take crucial points against Central Coast
Manchester City v Wigan Athletic: match preview
Chelsea v Tottenham: match preview
Hull City v Sunderland: match preview
West Bromwich v Manchester United: match preview
David Moyes slams petition against Tom Cleverley going to World Cup
Cardiff v Fulham: match preview
The Alan Pardew paradox: his position is stronger since the head-butt | Louise Taylor
Arsenal v Everton: match preview
Sheffield United v Charlton Athletic: match preview
Republican senators tell Fifa Russia must be kicked out of 2014 World Cup
Referee lockout means new MLS season will kick off with replacement officials
Our favourite things online this week: from James Joyce to Judy Murray
In the era of managed mega-fun resistance is futile … but necessary | Barney Ronay
Richard Williams on Anelka's quenelle
Jack Wilshere's injury is a 'major blow' for Arsenal, says Arsène Wenger - video
Norwich City v Stoke City: match preview
The Fiver: QuizUp Against Phil Neville | Jacob Steinberg

Roberto Martínez and Everton head to Arsenal and a familiar hurdle

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PST

Arsène Wenger's side arguably have more to lose in Saturday's quarter-final with the club from Goodison Park

Roberto Martínez won the FA Cup last season with Wigan before suffering relegation at the Emirates three days later. "That has never happened before and I don't think you will see it happen again," the Everton manager said. On Saturday afternoon Arsenal at the Emirates stand between his new club and a return to Wembley for Martínez.

A win today, and Everton won many plaudits for their display in the 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the league this season, and a route to a trophy opens up. Just as it did for Wigan with that stunning 3-0 quarter-final success at Goodison a year ago, effectively the performance that won Martínez his new job.

"We played very well at Arsenal, just as we played well at Tottenham and Chelsea," Martínez said this week. "But we only got one point [at Arsenal] from the three games. We need to score more goals. If we manage to be dominant, which we can do, we have to create chances and take them. Otherwise we leave ourselves open to disappointments such as the late goal that cost us at Stamford Bridge.

"When you face a team like Arsenal or Chelsea you know they are going to have their own moments of opportunity in the game, so it is not enough just to match them, we need to do better in the final third and make sure we carry a goal threat. Last season when Wigan went to Everton the scoreline reflected the performance. Not only were good chances created, they were taken, and that makes an enormous difference."

It was a pity in many ways that Wigan's fairytale season had such an unhappy ending, for though Martínez still insists he could not see relegation coming most outside observers felt his side had left themselves too much to do with their fixture backlog.

"Winning the Cup did not cost us our Premier League status, we had 38 games in which to try and achieve enough points to stay up," he said. "But the Cup final did have a bearing on the game at Arsenal. We were very good for 60 minutes then in the last half hour the emotional and physical fatigue from Wembley caught up with us. It became very difficult.

"The whole thing was a great learning experience, a hurtful one but not something I could ever complain about. I don't think I would change anything if I could go back. We did everything we could, and all for the right reasons, but we just couldn't achieve our aim and that was quite painful. I remember talking to Arsène Wenger after the game, he came over and had a word, but I honestly haven't a clue what he said. You want to try and digest everything that is going on but it was such a volatile moment I have no clear picture."

While Saturday's quarter-final will not be played for quite such high stakes, Arsenal arguably have more to lose than Everton. For both sides the FA Cup represents the most realistic hope of a trophy, neither have won anything in years, though Arsenal are the home side with the greater weight of expectation. "We are the underdogs," Martínez admitted.

"We have to be ready to go to the Emirates and give a good account of ourselves. I feel we can do that but I am a huge admirer of Arsenal, whether they win trophies or not. It is not all about silverware, in my opinion.

"Arsenal are a team that wants to look after the ball, they want to be in possession, and their combination play is as good as it gets. If you look beyond the silverware argument [nine years without one] and focus on the football club, they have always been able to qualify for the Champions League, and that shows great consistency. They built themselves a new ground, they are able to cope with losing top players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fábregas, they develop their own young players and they have a clear football philosophy.

"That seems more of a success story to me than clubs that are prepared to spend £300m to win a trophy. I suppose I am a bit of a romantic, but I think Arsenal have been very successful over the last 15 to 20 years."

Paul Wilson

José Mourinho says it is up to Tim Sherwood to retain Tottenham job

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PST

• 'He has a chance … now it's up to him'
• Chelsea host Tottenham on Saturday

José Mourinho believes Tim Sherwood can have few complaints if he fails to retain his position beyond the end of the season and said it is "up to him" to convince the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy to keep their young manager on.

Sherwood takes his Spurs side to Stamford Bridge on Saturday hoping to secure the club's first victory there since February 1990, a sequence that stretches to 26 games in all competitions, with his own future at White Hart Lane beyond the summer in doubt despite having signed an 18-month contract in December. Tottenham start the day four points adrift of the Champions League qualification places.

Louis van Gaal, who aspires to work in the Premier League once he leaves his position as the Holland manager after the World Cup, is in contention to take over while the Ajax coach, Frank de Boer, has also been linked with the position. Sherwood admits it has been "disappointing" to hear fellow managers comment on a potential job at Spurs, though Mourinho said the opportunity remains with the Englishman. "So now it's up to Sherwood," he said. "He has a chance. A chance that lots of people are waiting for. A chance. Now it's up to him."

Spurs remain in contention in the Europa League and in pursuit of the top four, with their rookie manager likely to have to succeed in one or the other if he is to retain his position. Mourinho has championed the cause of young English coaches in the Premier League in the past, though was quick to point out that, while he had embarked on his own managerial career at a new club with Benfica 13 years ago, Sherwood had at least benefited from being in a position of familiarity at Spurs having previously worked as their technical co-ordinator.

"I was not in the same position because, when I got my first job as a manager, I got it from not being in the club in another position," said Mourinho. "When I went to Benfica, I went from my house to Benfica. Not from the office or the under-21s or assistant coach. I arrived in the club to start my job. Sherwood has been in the club for a long time, so it's different."

Chelsea will monitor the fitness of Eden Hazard, David Luiz and Mikel John Obi before the derby, with only the Belgian expected to feature, despite suffering an ankle injury in midweek with his national team. Ashley Cole hurt the lateral ligament in his knee in training on Friday and will be absent for "a week to 10 days", according to the manager. The club hope he has suffered only a first degree tear. The 33-year-old had played 45 minutes for England in midweek but would have resumed his duties on the bench regardless with César Azpilicueta still first-choice at Chelsea.

Mourinho has never failed to win a league title when his team have topped the table in March, though he remains insistent that Manchester City should be considered favourites despite Chelsea having the opportunity to open up a nine-point advantage over Manuel Pellegrini's team on Saturday. City will have three games in hand and a superior goal difference.

"I'm not top of the league, that's the problem," added Mourinho. "I'm only really top of the league the day my team have played the same number of matches as the other teams, and I have more points. If that happens, I can say I'm top of the league. Until that moment, if other teams have matches in hand and can be top of the league if they win them, they are top of the league. So at this moment I'm not top of the league."

Dominic Fifield

Tan's son his eyes and ears at Cardiff

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:33 PM PST

Morvin Tan has had a hand in transfer deals but works at Cardiff in an unofficial capacity as eyes and ears for his father

After yet another turbulent week in south Wales, and on the eve of a crucial relegation battle against Fulham, it has emerged that Vincent Tan's son, Morvin, is working for Cardiff City in an unofficial capacity, including being involved in incoming and outgoing transfers during the January window.

The Guardian has learned that Morvin, a student in London, has been acting as a conduit between his father and the Premier League club, primarily by "taking a look at the numbers" at Cardiff in relation to player transactions. Morvin is not involved with the identification of players and sources at the club have stressed that he has the power to sign off a deal only once it has been approved by his father, after already going through various checks at board level.

While there is no suggestion that Morvin is doing anything improper the fact that he has any part to play in player transfers at Cardiff – he is in his early 20s and has no previous experience of working in professional football, let alone at the highest level – will raise eyebrows.

Part of the thinking behind Morvin becoming involved appears to be that his presence provides his father, who owns Cardiff, with another set of eyes and ears at the club as well as providing a further check on finances. Morvin is not, and has never been, on the payroll, unlike his friend Alisher Apsalyamov, the 23-year-old Kazakh who replaced Iain Moody as head of recruitment in October before being forced to leave the UK after his visa application was rejected.

It is understood that Morvin has formed a close working relationship with Will Salthouse, the agent who represents both Wilfried Zaha, who joined Cardiff on loan from Manchester United in January, and Kenwyne Jones, who arrived as part of a swap that saw Peter Odemwingie sign for Stoke City.

The latest development comes after the news that Vincent Tan offered the Cardiff players an illegal bonus if they avoid relegation. The Premier League have asked Cardiff for an explanation for the £3.7m survival bonus that Tan proposed during a meeting at the team hotel in London on Saturday night, before Sunday's game against Tottenham Hotspur, which Cardiff lost 1-0.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Cardiff manager whose weekly press conferences seem to be dominated by questions about his owner, suggested there is nothing to be concerned about in relation to the bonus. "We've spoken to the Premier League and they know the situation and I don't think there will be a problem," Solskjaer said.

Solskjaer refused to criticise Tan for his actions, which breached Premier League rules. "Whether this was said or that was said [by Tan], that's missing the point for me, that's completely irrelevant. What's relevant is that we are there together," Solskjaer said, when asked about the bonus offer.

"He was there to encourage the lads, back the team, he's behind us. And we're here to get the job done. He was there to rally everyone. I invited him to come. We showed unity and that's what you've got to show to the players, that we're all in this together. He's the owner of the club, he wants to be successful, which is great, and he came there and showed that he is backing them. And he did great. When he was stood up on that chair and was talking to them: brilliant."

On the pitch the stakes could hardly be higher this afternoon. Cardiff, second from bottom in the Premier League, are at home to Fulham, who are anchored to the foot of the table. With only four points from a possible 24 under Solskjaer and the 4-0 thrashing at home against Hull City a fortnight ago, Cardiff badly need a win to revive their hopes of staying in the Premier League.

Asked what he wanted from his players against Fulham, Solskjaer said: "Courage. And to play with no fear, go out there and play as [though] you are going to win the league in this game, play like you are going to gain something, because that's what we've got to do. Go out there, be brave, get on the ball, take responsibility and, of course, have that fight in you."

Stuart James

Sherwood craves credit for Spurs job

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Sherwood senses a reluctance to praise rookie manager
• Claims Tottenham are relishing important fixtures in March

Tim Sherwood believes he has not been given the recognition he deserves for keeping Tottenham Hotspur in contention for Champions League qualification this season. Spurs' campaign seemed in danger of being derailed in mid-December when, with the club in seventh place and struggling to find fluency on the pitch, André Villas-Boas was ousted as manager and Sherwood was promoted in his place.

The 45-year-old had never managed before but has won nine of 16 matches in charge and cultivated a more enterprising style of play that has found favour with players and fans. Spurs are now fifth in the table and, even though they remain the same number of points from fourth place as they were when Villas-Boas left, the mood around White Hart Lane seems more positive. Yet Sherwood senses a reluctance to praise him for the job done so far.

"People have been waiting for us to fail and lose some games," he said. "I just think the perception is you cannot be a rookie manager and come in and be that good."

Although Sherwood signed an 18-month contract when he took over, there are regular reports linking other managers with a summer move to Tottenham, with the Dutchmen Ronald de Boer and Louis van Gaal among those alluding to contact between them and Spurs. "I can't do anything about that," said Sherwood. "I just have to carry on with my job, which is what I am doing at the moment. You listen to it and it is disappointing because I never tout myself for anyone's job while someone else is in it."

Sherwood believes that being parachuted into an emergency has prevented him from moulding a team in his own image but says that, given time, he will make this team evolve. He contrasts his desired approach with the method of operation of his next opponent, José Mourinho. "He's probably a different manager to how I would want to manage. Mourinho, as he has proved, goes into a club, gets backed by the chairman and buys the players to win instantly. I would see myself as more of a manager who builds something over time but I realise at the moment that is not possible because I have been dealt a hand here and I have to try to win games. I'm going from game to game to try to keep myself in a job.

"If you said to me 'does that team we've got out at the moment play the way Tim Sherwood wants to play?' No, but I can't do anything about that. There's variations on that and you see it in glimpses, you see the contrast to the way that André plays to the way I want to play but it's not 100% how I want to play. At the moment it's a balancing act and hopefully I will get an opportunity to bring my players in and build something for the future after the season finishes."

March could be a defining month for Tottenham's season and, therefore, for Sherwood's long-term employment prospects, as they face Premier League games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool as well as a two-legged Europa League quarter-final against Benfica.

"We're not frightened by it, we're looking forward to it," said Sherwood. "We've got players who want to play in big games and they don't get bigger than these." Sherwood said he has devised a plan for the trip to Stamford Bridgeon Saturday, where Spurs have not won for 24 years: "We will respect them and park the bus ... but the doors will be open."

Paul Doyle

Van Persie settled at United and not planning move, says Moyes

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Moyes denies De Boer claim Van Persie wants to move
• Manager to ease Nemanja Vidic out during rest of season

David Moyes has strongly denied any suggestion Manchester United's players are collectively unhappy with his management and insisted Robin van Persie is settled at the club despite Ronald de Boer's claims that his fellow Dutchman might want to leave.

Moyes, whose team visit West Brom in Saturday's lunchtime kick-off at the start of a critical three-week period, said he plans to begin easing Nemanja Vidic out of the team after confirmation from Internazionale that United's captain will be moving to San Siro next season, a statement that has caused disquiet at Old Trafford because of its timing.

However, the United manager made it clear he does not expect Van Persie to follow Vidic out of the club despite De Boer saying this week that the striker was "not enjoying the football Manchester United play" and contemplating his future.

"I couldn't reply to that and I wouldn't know how Ronald de Boer would know that," Moyes said. "I travelled back from the [Holland] game with Robin the other night. I went to the game, watched them play and travelled back with him. I hardly feel I need to answer the question."

Moyes went on to say he had no issues with Van Persie's comments about the team's tactics after the 2-0 defeat to Olympiakos – "none whatsoever, if you actually read the full transcript I understand totally where he was coming from" – and added there was no issue between Van Persie and Wayne Rooney. Statistics in recent weeks have shown a sharp deterioration in their link-up play, most notably against Olympiakos when Van Persie played one pass to Rooney, direct from the kick-off.

"The statistics before they both came back [from injury] proved that we had lost one game with them in the team up until the previous three or four games," Moyes said. "The record with the two of them in the team was fantastic, so I was talking up how good they were together a month ago. It's only in the last couple of games that has gone. We didn't play well at Olympiakos but prior to that we won at Palace and drew at Arsenal. It was that one game that has dragged this up."

United, seventh in the Premier League and 18 points behind Chelsea at the top, lost to West Brom at Old Trafford earlier in the season and desperately need a better result this time bearing in mind they face Liverpool and Manchester City before the end of the month.

"I don't know if it's the right thing [to say] that they're not playing for me," Moyes said. "I think they definitely do, so I don't accept that. I've been honest with the players and the media, I've tried to be straight as I can. We need to play better. Olympiakos was the poorest we've played. That was disappointing but we will improve from that and we will be better.

"We had a bad night and we all take responsibility for that. But I refute that was the worst night or all those sort of things. We didn't play well, we said that honestly and we know we have to do much better. The players are aware of that and we will have to do better in the coming months."

Vidic will continue with the captaincy but Moyes intends to use him more sparingly now his move to Italy is confirmed. "Undoubtedly I am going to try to give the younger centre-halves opportunities to show what they are capable of. Going into this period of the season we will look to see how Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans, when fit, are able to handle this part."

Asked about the announcement from Inter, Moyes said: "I don't think we like it in this country. I don't think it's something that's done here. I can think of [Robert] Lewandowski going to Bayern Munich. I can think of [Mario] Götze, who went last year between two of the biggest clubs in Germany. It's not something we like in this country, it's done more often elsewhere. But it's happened and we'll get on with it. Vida has been a brilliant servant for the club and we'll treat him with all the respect he deserves. I knew about January time that this would probably be his choice."

Moyes has put together an open letter for United's season-ticket holders thanking them for their support – "The difficult season we have experienced was not something that I envisaged," he writes – but admitted at Friday's press conference it was an idea from elsewhere within the club.

"I was asked to put out something to the supporters to say: 'Here we are, this is how it's gone about' but I think most Manchester United supporters totally understand the situation. They've shown that with their backing wherever I've been, not just at Old Trafford but everywhere. I've been to a lot of games all over the world and all the Manchester United supporters I bump into understand we're having a difficult season and they're looking forward to it getting better."

Moyes also showed his disdain for the coverage of the online petition demanding Tom Cleverley does not play for England. "I am surprised that the media would be picking something up on social media and making a big case out of it because that is wrong."

Daniel Taylor

Wilshere is 'too brave', says Wenger

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Arsenal midfielder is 'very, very, very resistant to pain'
• Manager believes player will return to action in early May

Arsène Wenger was given the news in Paris on Wednesday night, after he had watched France's 2-0 win over Holland in his capacity as a TV pundit. Jack Wilshere, the Arsenal manager was told, had taken a heavy tackle during England's 1-0 victory over Denmark but there was no reason to worry. It was nothing serious. Wenger should have known better.

"The problem of Jack," Wenger said on Friday morning, as he drew upon lengthy and frustrating experience, "is that he is a bit less sensitive, he has a high pain threshold. That is why he is in danger sometimes because he doesn't feel pain. He just goes on and, after, you see a disaster has happened.

"I wonder as well, [how] has he done that fracture at the moment [in the 12th minute] and was capable to play the whole game before he went off [on 59 minutes]? I don't understand how he could do that.

"So many times, I sit there and say to the physio: 'Come on, how bad is it?' And I'm told that Jack says he wants two or three minutes and, after that, he continues to play. You think you have to take him off straight away on a stretcher and, after that, suddenly, he can go on. He is very, very, very resistant to pain."

Everybody now knows that Wilshere suffered a hairline fracture to the top of his left foot in the 12th-minute challenge with Daniel Agger, the Liverpool and Denmark defender and, according to Wenger, the Arsenal midfielder will need six weeks of rehabilitation and two more after that to regain match fitness.

If everything goes to plan, Wilshere will be back on 3 May for the penultimate round of Premier League fixtures and in time to be included in Roy Hodgson's squad for the World Cup finals, which the England manager will name on 13 May.

Wenger said he was certain that Wilshere would be 100% fit for Brazil and although he reported that the player was "very down" and had gone away for a short break in order to get a bit of "space", the manager himself was pragmatic.

He said that Agger had "wanted to go for the ball", that the injury was an "accident" and he did not blame the England medics for allowing Wilshere to continue. He also took issue with those who have questioned both Wilshere's wisdom in jumping into the challenge and his subsequent refusal to come off, following the initial surge of pain. The 22-year-old's courage has somehow been used to condemn him, which is pretty ironic given the general desire in this country for England players to have the hearts of lions.

"We are always sitting here saying – and you writing – that you want full commitment from the players and so when you get it, you don't want to say he shouldn't commit," Wenger said. "When Jack was younger I told him not to go into stupid challenges. He has improved a lot on that front. He went in the other night. Did he need to go in there? You always point to your instinct in that situation."

The bottom line, however, is that Arsenal have been left to pick up the pieces after the international break. Wenger did not see Laurent Koscielny in action for France against Holland because the defender had a hamstring problem – he faces a fitness test ahead of Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final at home to Everton – while Mesut Özil, below, whose confidence has been at a low ebb, was jeered by Germany fans upon his substitution towards the end of the 1-0 win over Chile.

"I am quite surprised that that happened," Wenger said. "I haven't spoken to Mesut about it yet. But if he feels physically all right, I will start him [against Everton]."

Wenger's bad luck has not been restricted to threes. Aaron Ramsey, out since Boxing Day with a thigh strain, might have returned to full training on Monday but he remains a week away from fitness while Kim Kallstrom, the January loan signing who has carried a back injury, is on a similar recovery timetable.

It does not get any easier for Wenger as he chases a first trophy since 2005 and Everton's visit comes on the back of last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Stoke City, which saw Arsenal slip four points off the title pace. They are 2-0 down to Bayern Munich going into Tuesday's Champions League last-16 second leg in Germany and it is possible to see the FA Cup as the club's best chance of a trophy. Everton, though, are a tough nut to crack, as they proved when they drew 1-1 at the Emirates in the league last December.

Wenger has given the impression in seasons gone by that the FA Cup lags some way behind the Premier League and the Champions League in terms of importance, but you suspect he would give almost anything to win it this time round.

"For us it's vital because we had such a disappointing result at Stoke and a non-convincing performance offensively," Wenger said. "We need a great response. What we produced last week was not good enough. How important is it to win a trophy this season? It's vital."

David Hytner

Hull's Steve Bruce banks on FA Cup repeat of the winning kind

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST

• Bruce hopes to avoid misery he suffered when at Birmingham
• Cup record as a player will drive manager against Sunderland

Steve Bruce will be hoping that part of his personal history does not repeat itself when Hull City face his former club Sunderland in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday: his only previous venture to this stage of the competition as a manager ended in misery.

Bruce, who played in two Wembley wins with Manchester United, has not been able to replicate anything like that level of success in the dugout and his maiden sixth-round tie with Birmingham City eight years ago resulted in a 7-0 home humiliation at the hands of Liverpool. Relegation from the Premier League followed a few weeks later.

With Hull still very much in the thick of the survival fight – albeit with a six-point buffer over the final relegation spot, occupied by this weekend's opponents – it has concocted a conundrum of stick or twist for a club with neither a Cup pedigree nor a sustained top-flight past. Hull's only visit to an FA Cup semi-final came way back in 1930 – "It'd be nice to think there's still some around that went to it," smiled Bruce – while the club's only venture to Wembley in 2008, for the Championship play-off, delivered a first opportunity to mix with England's elite.

Wigan, another of his previous employers, highlighted the possibilities the competition still offers last season. The caveat to their win, of course, was their drop into the Championship. Bruce, however, appears to have been lured by potential glory and that means he will field his strongest possible team – although in-form strikers Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long, whose goals at the Stadium of Light last month completed the league double over Sunderland, are cup-tied.

"The chance of an FA Cup semi-final doesn't come along too often, and we have seen great players who have not played in one. One of the greats of the game who recently left us, Sir Tom Finney, never won the FA Cup," said Bruce. "That's the point I'll make to my team: that these opportunities are rare.

"Of course, it will be great for the city, and although the club has been there in the play-offs I don't think it's quite like a semi-final or final at Wembley. If you ask the hardcore of Wigan fans, the day out and winning last May will arguably be better than staying in the Premier League for them. I am convinced of that.

"To see Wigan do it last year – I have a bias towards them, of course – was absolutely fantastic. It showed a small club could win the FA Cup. That was an afternoon to highlight the magic of the competition. I have got nowhere near it before and probably because I had a decent run at it as a player, I've been thinking: 'Don't be greedy, it's not going to happen in management.'"

Hull have had the edge over Gus Poyet's Capital One Cup finalists this season courtesy of a common feature: in each they had numerical advantages before half-time. Making it a treble by more conventional means would congest the league run-in – something Sunderland are already contending with – and potentially deliver Football League opposition, Charlton or Sheffield United, for a place in the final itself. "When you get to this stage, it's a case of 'why not?' There are only eight of us left, and while we are one of eight we've got a chance," Bruce concluded.

Richard Gibson

Melbourne Victory fail to impress but take crucial points against Central Coast

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 02:19 PM PST

Scruffy win gives Victory a leg-up in finals race, while Mariners' terrible run leaves them in danger of missing out

Manchester City v Wigan Athletic: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 12:08 PM PST

The Capital One Cup in the bag, now ManchesterCity's attention turns to the FA Cup. Yet they will have to avoid complacency in their quarter-final against Wigan, their conquerors in last season's final and managed by the former City striker, Uwe Rösler. Wigan will take inspiration from what was one of the greatest shocks in the tournament's history. Could Manuel Pellegrini's side have one eye on Wednesday's Champions League tie with Barcelona? Unlikely. They beat Wigan 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium in the third round of the Capital One Cup in September. Jacob Steinberg

FA Cup – Kick-off Sunday 4pm

Venue Etihad Stadium

Last season Man City 0 Wigan 1

Live BT Sport 1 Referee A Taylor

This season G15, Y53, R2, 3.8 cards per game

Odds H 1-6 A 20-1 D 8-1

Manchester City

Subs from Hart, Richards, Lescott, Boyata, Kolarov, Nasri, Milner, García, Dzeko

Doubtful None

Injured Jovetic (hamstring, 12 Mar), Nastasic (knee, unknown)

Suspended None

Form WDLWWW

Discipline Y49 R0

Leading scorer Agüero 15

Wigan

Subs from Nicholls, Crainey, Rogne, Ramis, McEachran, Espinoza, Fortuné

Doubtful None

Injured Carson (thigh, unknown), Caldwell (calf, unknown), Maloney (hip, unknown), Powell (hamstring, unknown), Watson (leg, unknown)

Cup-tied Waghorn, Tunnicliffe, Kiernan Suspended None

Form WWWWLW Discipline Y52 R2

Leading scorer Powell, Gómez 5

Chelsea v Tottenham: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:39 AM PST

Chelsea, unbeaten in 13 league games, can move seven points clear of the teams in second place with victory over their bitter rivals from across the capital and will fancy their chances given Tottenham Hotspur have not won a league game at Stamford Bridge since Gary Lineker and David Howells scored in a 2-1 success back in February 1990. They have come close to breaking that duck in the years since, and competed well in a 2-2 draw last term, though their own pursuit of Champions League qualification demands an adventurous approach. The hosts, who will conduct late checks on the personnel who have returned from international duties, will hope to capitalise. Dominic Fifield

Kick-off Saturday 5.30pm

Venue Stamford Bridge

Last season Chelsea 2 Tottenham 2

Live Sky Sports 1 Referee M Oliver

This season G19, Y71, R2, 3.9 cards per game

Odds H 8-13 A 23-4 D 3-1

Chelsea

Subs from Schwarzer, Hilário, Blackman, Kalas, Ake, Mikel, David Luiz, Lampard, Oscar, Salah, Ba, Torres

Doubtful Mikel (calf), David Luiz (groin), Hazard (ankle)

Injured Van Ginkel (knee, Apr), Cole (knee, 22 Mar)

Suspended None

Form WWDWWD

Discipline Y43 R1

Leading scorer Hazard 12

Tottenham Hotspur

Subs from Friedel, Walker, Gomes, Kaboul, Kane, Sandro, Bentaleb, Chadli, Sigurdsson

Doubtful Walker (hip), Fryers (knock), Kaboul (muscular)

Injured Eriksen (back, 15 Mar), Rose (knee, 15 Mar), Capoue (ankle, 15 Mar), Chiriches (back, 22 Mar), Lamela (back, 29 Mar)

Suspended None Form WLWWDL

Discipline Y46 R2

Leading scorer Adebayor 8

Hull City v Sunderland: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:33 AM PST

Already beaten twice by Hull and their old boss Steve Bruce in the Premier league this season, Sunderland may not be too sure whether they want to make it third time lucky. Still deeply embroiled in the relegation skirmish, Gus Poyet's team could probably do with bowing out at this stage so it will be no surprise if he makes several changes to the side which lost last Sunday's Capital One Cup finalto Manchester City at Wembley. Former Sunderland players Ahmed Elmohamady and David Meyler will be keen to impress against their old team. Louise Taylor

FA Cup – Kick-off Sunday 2pm

Venue KC Stadium

Last season n/a

Live ITV

Referee C Pawson

This season G8, Y24, R0, 3.0 cards per game

Odds H 6-5 A 11-4 D 12-5

Hull City

Subs from Harper, Bruce, Faye, Boyd, Koren, Fryatt, Quinn

Doubtful None

Injured Brady (groin, unknown), McShane (ankle, Aug)

Suspended None

Cup-tied Jelavic, Long

Form LWLWDL

Discipline Y43 R3

Leading scorer Brady 4

Sunderland

Subs from Mannone, Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Cuellar, Alonso, Bridcutt, Ki, Johnson, Colback, Mavrias, Ba, Borini, Fletcher

Doubtful None

Injured Westwood (shoulder, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LLWWDW

Discipline Y39 R6

Leading scorer Johnson 9

West Bromwich v Manchester United: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:17 AM PST

The last time these two met at The Hawthorns it was the final day of the season and Sir Alex Ferguson's last game in charge of Manchester United. Nobody thought that the transition would be seamless under David Moyes but few expected it to be quite this bad. Albion are also in a state of turmoil. They have won only one of their last 18 matches in all competitions and are still looking for their first victory since Pepe Mel took over. Stuart James

Kick-off Saturday 12.45pm

Venue The Hawthorns

Last season WBA 5 Man Utd 5

Live BT Sport 1

Referee J Moss

This season G17, Y59, R2, 3.7 cards per game

Odds H4-1 A 4-5 D 11-4

West Bromwich Albion

Subs from Myhill, Sinclair, Bifouma, Sessègnon, Amalfitano, Vydra, Dawson,

Berahino, Dorrans, Tamas, Popov, Daniels

Doubtful Brunt (fatigue), Morrison (muscle)

Injured Jones (hamstring, Apr), Lugano (knee, Apr)

Suspended None

Form DDLDLD Discipline Y55 R0

Leading scorer Berahino 4

Manchester United

Subs from Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Evans, Jones, Büttner, Giggs, Young, Fletcher, Valencia, Kagawa, Fellaini, Welbeck

Doubtful Fellaini (back), Jones (knee), Evans (hip)

Injured Hernández (knee, unknown)

Suspended None

Form WDDLWL

Discipline Y50 R2

Leading scorer Van Persie 11

David Moyes slams petition against Tom Cleverley going to World Cup

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:12 AM PST

• Over 17,000 sign online poll calling on midfielder to be axed
• 'He is a great trainer. He is first out and does his best'
• What petitions should football fans support?

David Moyes sprang to the defence of Tom Cleverley after an online petition was launched calling for the Manchester United midfielder to be excluded from England's World Cup squad.

Over 17,000 people have signed the petition, which was set up by Glenn McConnell from Blackpool, who criticised the player's "inept" performances for United and England.

"Tom Cleverley is a fantastic young player who's developing all the time," the Manchester United manager said. "He is a great trainer. He is first out and every day he does his best in training. He always gives his best and that is why he will succeed."

Cleverley received the backing of Roy Hodgson, too. The England manager lashed out at those who had signed the petition. The midfielder did not feature for England in their friendly win over Denmark on Wednesday but he is fit for United's game against West Brom on Saturday.

A letter from Moyes to United season ticket holders came to light on Friday morning. In it the Scot thanked the fans for their support during what he conceded was a sub-par season.

Moyes repeated that message on Friday. "We have great support," he said. "The supporters understand the difficult period we are in and they are backing the players.

"I believe that the players are working hard for each other. They know they can play better and they will play better."

Cardiff v Fulham: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 11:03 AM PST

It has been another turbulent week at Cardiff City and one would feel with Everton and Liverpool next up, failure to get a result against the only team below them in the table would plunge Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team into a deeper crisis. Fulham's new manager, Felix Magath, reckons there is more pressure on Cardiff but, winless since January, they need to improve before it's too late. Alan Smith

Kick-off today 3pm

Venue Cardiff City Stadium

Last season n/a

Referee M Atkinson

This season G18, Y56, R3, 3.4 cards per game

Odds H 11-8 A 23-10 D 27-11

Cardiff City

Subs from Lewis, Turner, Theophile-Catherine, Whittingham, Gunnarsson,

Daehli, Kim, Eikrem, Berget, Taylor, McNaughton, Cowie

Doubtful None

Injured Hudson (hamstring, Aug)

Suspended None

Form LLDLWL

Discipline Y34 R0

Leading scorer Campbell 5

Fulham

Subs from Stockdale, Riise, Zverotic, Burn, Boateng, David, Christensen, Rodallega, Tankovic, Dembélé, Kacaniklic, Mitroglou

Doubtful Hangeland (concussion)

Injured Parker (knee, 15 Mar), Duff (knee, Aug), Amorebieta (thigh, 15 Mar), Kvist (hamstring, 22 Mar), Briggs (groin, May) Suspended None

Form LDLDLL Discipline Y42 R0

Leading scorer Sidwell 6

The Alan Pardew paradox: his position is stronger since the head-butt | Louise Taylor

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 10:53 AM PST

Mike Ashley has his manager over a barrel, the club is £100,000 richer and Newcastle United are playing well

Students of English seeking a definition of the word "paradox" need look no further than the very peculiar case of Alan Pardew and Newcastle United.

Despite head-butting an opposing player, receiving a £100,000 club fine and the prospect of a further touchline/stadium ban from the Football Association, Pardew's position at St James' Park has been strengthened immeasurably during the past week.

It is the sort of paradox that could surely only apply to Newcastle, their manager and Mike Ashley, the club's owner. While the media howled for Pardew's head, inside St James' corridors of power, his job was never perceived as under threat following that shameful head-butt on Hull City's David Meyler.

Instead the incident may well have been viewed as something of a godsend by Ashley. Quite apart from saving the sports retail tycoon £100,000 in managerial wages, Pardew's moment of technical area self-destruction means Newcastle's owner is working with an ultra tame manager, one he now has over a barrel. Do not expect Pardew to appeal for player investment through the media this summer; not when Ashley can remind him most other bosses would have sacked him and rival clubs are hardly likely to be queuing up for his services.

While the decision to retain his manager could be indicative of the owner's desire to sell Newcastle in the short or medium term, there are also logical reasons to keep faith with Pardew.

Quite apart from his team being poised to better Ashley's pre-season target of a minimum 10th-place finish it is not entirely impossible that they could yet reprise their feat of two years ago and end the campaign in fifth.

Granted things went a little wrong last season when Newcastle dallied with relegation but Pardew could cite a draining Europa League campaign in mitigation. Moreover rather than making a huge fuss about Ashley's failure to replace Yohan Cabaye in January, he has praised the owner for producing a new £10m profit.

Indeed having won a power struggle and seen off the recently sacked director of football, Joe Kinnear, Pardew seems fully to have repaired a relationship with his boss that went terribly awry last spring when, idiotically, he told the media: "Mike has made mistakes." His punishment was the imposition of Kinnear but it is testimony to the new strength of his relationship with the owner that he has not been dismissed at a juncture when the term "gross misconduct" meant Ashley would no longer have been liable to meet the reportedly hefty compensation clauses contained in the 52-year-old's eight-year contract.

If another factor in Pardew's newly enhanced job security might be Ashley's unwillingness to waste time and energy identifying a new – almost certainly more fiancially demanding and potentially tactically inferior – manager at a time when his club lacks a chairman in the wake of Derek Llambias's resignation last summer, the Sports Direct mastermind is also no lover of the media.

Significantly there is a growing feeling within the club and certain sections of Newcastle's support that there has been a massive, rather hysterical, media overreaction to the Meyler incident.

Yes, observers agree, Pardew – whose recent technical area abuse of Manuel Pellegrini when he called Manchester City's manager a "fucking old cunt" was appalling – should surely sign up for anger management counselling but they also point out that the Meyler altercations should be viewed in context, as an instinctive reaction rather than a pre-meditated act. That does not make it right. But in a court of law it would be a key mitigating factor.

An accomplished actor in public, Newcastle's manager may, just may, be more leniently dealt with by the FA's panel than many expect. Advised by a top legal team, he will use the precedent of Mark Yates in 2007 to try and escape a stadium ban.

Seven years ago Yates – then in charge of Kidderminster, now with Cheltenham – head-butted Exeter player Lee Elam after Kidderminster's 2-0 Conference defeat against the Devon side. The FA issued Yates with a four-match touchline ban and fined him £350.

Admittedly Paul Ince received a five-game stadium ban earlier this season but the then Blackpool manager was found to have violently shoved a fourth official during an expeltive laden rant at the end of a game in which he had already been sent to the stands. Was that really less serious than Pardew's brush with Meyler?

As Sir Bobby Robson used to say: football, like life, is full of shades of grey.

Horribly wrong as last Saturday's incident at Hull was, the consequences may not be as black and white as the tabloids would have you believe.

Louise Taylor

Arsenal v Everton: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 10:49 AM PST

Everton have felt robbed in the capital after the recent 1-0 losses to Chelsea and Tottenham but they have lacked a goal threat recently to build upon solid team performances. The hope is that the fit-again Romelu Lukaku can provide it, having marked his return as a substitute with the winner at home to West Ham last weekend. Arsenal might consider the FA Cup as their best chance of a trophy and, heaven knows, they are desperate to win something. David Hytner

FA Cup – Kick-off Saturday 12.45pm

Venue Emirates Stadium

Last season n/a

Live ITV1

Referee M Clattenburg

This season G20, Y66, R1, 3.4 cards per game

Odds H 4-5 A 7-2 D 5-2

Arsenal

Subs from Fabianski, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Zelalem, Gnabry, Rosicky, Miyaichi, Podolski, Bendtner, Sanogo

Doubtful Koscielny (hamstring)

Injured Diaby (knee, unknown), Ramsey (thigh, 15 Mar), Walcott

(knee, Aug), Kallstrom (back, 15 Mar), Wilshere (foot, 3 May)

Suspended None Form DWLDWL

Discipline Y38 R3

Leading scorer Giroud 16

Everton

Subs from Howard, Jagielka, Stones, Mirallas, Browning, Hibbert, McGeady, Deulofeu, Naismith

Doubtful Jagielka (hamstring)

Injured Traoré (hamstring, unknown), Oviedo (broken leg, Aug), Koné (knee, May), Gibson (knee, May)

Suspended None

Form WLWLWL

Discipline Y42 R1

Leading scorer Lukaku 10

Sheffield United v Charlton Athletic: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 10:46 AM PST

Nigel Clough insists that his team are not favourites despite having home advantage and a six-game winning run, on the basis that Charlton currently reside a division above Sheffield United. Chris Powell's team are struggling to maintain their status in the second tier but with a date at Wembley 90 minutes away his team will try to put their problems to one side for the afternoon. Alan Smith

FA Cup – Kick-off Sunday 12pm

Venue Bramall Lane

Last season n/a

Live BT Sport 1

Referee L Mason

This season G17, Y54, R4, 3.6 cards per game

Odds H 6-5 A 9-4 D 12-5

Sheffield United

Subs from Long, Baxter, Brayford, Miller, McGinn, Kennedy, Hill, Freeman, Calvert-Lewin, Reed, De Girolamo

Doubtful Brayford (calf), Murphy (groin), Maguire (knee), McGinn (back)Injured None Suspended None

Cup-tied Whitehouse, McFadzean, Paynter

Form WWWWWW

Discipline Y39 R1

Leading scorer Porter 9

Charlton Athletic

Subs from Thuram-Ulien, Morrison, Sordell, Ghoochannejhad, Sordell, Pritchard, Gower, Evina, Green

Doubtful Morrison (thigh), Cousins (knock), Church (knock)

Injured Cort (knee, unknown), Solly (knee, unknown)

Suspended None

Form LWLLLL

Discipline Y39 R4

Leading scorer Church 8

Republican senators tell Fifa Russia must be kicked out of 2014 World Cup

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 10:32 AM PST

Mark Kirk and Dan Coates write letter to Sepp Blatter saying 2018 event must also be taken away from scheduled host country

Martin Pengelly

Referee lockout means new MLS season will kick off with replacement officials

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 09:42 AM PST

Professional Referee Organization locks out officials after union rejected a no strike-no lockout deal

Our favourite things online this week: from James Joyce to Judy Murray

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 09:35 AM PST

Featuring Faustino Asprilla, Brian O'Driscoll, goals in World Cup finals, unpatriotic cricket fans and the superb sport of slamball

Paul Campbell

Hannah Jane Parkinson

In the era of managed mega-fun resistance is futile … but necessary | Barney Ronay

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 09:29 AM PST

The top end football experience has been irrevocably transformed into one giant conjoined strobe-lit homogenised assault of incoherent corporate sales-fart

There was a disturbing incident towards the end of England's game against Denmark on Wednesday. With Wembley already wreathed in traditional low-season friendly gloom and the match meandering to a close, two men sitting near the press seats suddenly stood up and started punching each other. Not that this was odd in itself. In fact at first there was almost something comfortingly old school about the sight of lumpen middle-aged men garbing and panting and hurling their useless wrist-flapping haymakers. Going to watch football as a child in the 1980s this tended to happen quite a lot, the whole experience shot through with lurking certainty that at any stage it could all "kick off". In fact, as a natural coward I've noticed I still carry around with me at all public gatherings the conviction, buried deep down, that "it" could still end up kicking off. Work Christmas parties. Parents' evenings. The affordable art fair in Battersea Park. Stay close, I'll be growling out of the corner of my mouth, checking the exits, sweatily scanning the crowd. This could kick off. Seriously. Just kick off. Any second.

If there was something unusual about this particular punch-up it was perhaps just the sense of worlds colliding, the spectacle of everyday senseless violence set against Wembley's familiarly soft-pedalled family-schmaltz backdrop. As the fists flailed a pair of passing buffoons in George Cross jesters' hats tried vaguely to break it up. A row of hospitality-packaged faces looked around for a steward or a waiter or a tour guide to intervene. Where was David Beckham? Do we sing Jerusalem now? In fact there was a weird, nightmarish aspect to the whole scene, like an Evensong service where halfway through Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending the vicar starts rolling up the sleeves of his surplice to show off his tattoos and insisting on selling you a knocked-off bag of meat.

Looking back both major football matches staged at Wembley this week provided a reminder of how things have changed inside our stadiums, and how profoundly controlled and interventionist the staging of large sporting events now is. As ever Sunday's Cup final was overwhelmed at both ends by the usual jabbering amplified voices, those blaring interruptions and nudges and shoulder-taps – an exploding mega-trophy, a giant plastic football, a modern dance trapeze artist whirling the Capital One Cup around in a state of apparent sensual ecstasy – while in the background, peeking through the sheen of managed fun, Sunderland and Manchester City fans simply got on with the business of already being excited about football.

Elsewhere the Six Nations has experimented this season with a more theatrical staging, most notably the England team's new ticket-shifting gladiatorial pre-match Twickenham car-park walk. Even Test cricket has fallen for the bombast, the Ashes series last summer marred most notably by the unusually upbeat rendition of Jerusalem before play each morning, William Blake's finely-wrought, oddly ambiguous poetical preface – the entire first verse a series of questions, the answer to all of which is "no" – as reinterpreted by a particularly jovial bingo caller. Somebody please give that man his arrows of desire. He's been asking for weeks.

Of course, English sport has a grand history of this kind of thing. It was at Euro 96 that television first turned its cameras decisively on the crowd, crystallising the notion of the new participatory face-painted mega-fan, no longer a mob on the fringes but cajoled centre-stage as part of the product. For the first time sport and its trappings could be retailed more broadly as a kind of soft-focus lifestyle option, the football supporter completing an unlikely re-branding from outcast skinhead vandal to dutifully gurning replica-shirted footsoldier of the new leisure economy, a place where suddenly everybody is a fan, where the self-contained operetta of the Premier League fills the skies, where the natives speak banter, and where naturally everything, everything – mate, everything – is awesome.

It would be easy to argue that this is all harmless enough, but there is plenty that is cheerless in the commodifying of our sporting periphery. It is easy to forget how controlled and managed every single public space in which top level sport takes place has become. At the end of the 1981 FA Cup final replay, as Steve Perryman waggled the Cup around on the royal gantry, a random Spurs supporter leapt up out of the crowd, grabbed the Cup, stood there for a bit, and then just wandered off again. Try that today and you'd be shot by snipers and then repeatedly tasered while the TV cameras cut to an emergency Newsnight special.

Not that things were necessarily better – or safer or less full of hate – in pre-modern times. Football in the 1980s had the feel of an unloved affair on the margins of things, ill-fitting, abandoned, played out in crumbling corrugated grounds. Odd as it seems now there was a real fear that football might simply die out altogether. Instead something else happened, a complete consumer-led transformation at the top end, to a degree that the immediate experience has been irrevocably transformed, altered – some might argue – into one giant conjoined strobe-lit homogenised assault of incoherent corporate sales-fart.

Some things have undoubtedly been lost along the way. "Get ready for more live international football action from England and DENMAAAARRRKK!!" the stadium announcer barked at the start of the second half on Wednesday night, destroying at a single stroke the sense of ancient, soothing listlessness that had begun to droop over Wembley, a quality of unmanaged tedium that remains, for all the noises off, a part of the game's enduring appeal, its deep footballing soul.

Nobody will mourn the disappearance of the hateful herd or the lone middle-aged scrapper. But there is still a rare kind of freedom to be found in the crowd, sport's own vanishing wild frontier. Resistance to the managed fun of the mega-stadium era may be futile. But it should still be resisted, if only for the bad old days' sake, and for the memory of all that terribly mismanaged and unprofitable freedom.

Barney Ronay

Richard Williams on Anelka's quenelle

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 09:13 AM PST

All the millions of pounds earned by the Frenchman in nearly two decades as a professional footballer have not been enough to sever him from the resentments of his roots

If the three men appointed to judge the matter of Nicolas Anelka and the quenelle had been given unlimited resources, they could have started their investigation with a visit to the Square Van Gogh. This little recreation of an idealised rural France – all sandwashed terraced houses with pantiled roofs and wooden shutters – was built in the 1970s in La Plaine de Neauphle, a sector of Trappes, a banlieue, or suburb, 15 miles south of Paris. It was there, in the Rue du Moulin de la Galette, named after one of Van Gogh's bucolic paintings, that Anelka grew up, amid a landscape full of cognitive dissonance.

Someone had a vision for La Plaine de Neauphle, which contains colour-coded apartment blocks named after France's great cultural figures: Stendhal, Gauguin, Cocteau, Daumier, Camus. But, as the town planners would have known, the inhabitants are almost all from France's former colonies: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, the Antilles, Vietnam. And when I visited there in 1999, looking for something that might explain the puzzling behaviour of a 19-year-old prodigy who was scoring for Arsenal but didn't celebrate his goals, it was already numbered among France's quartiers difficiles, where disaffected youths relieved the boredom by making trouble.

"A ghetto, a lot of kids, a lot of unemployment, a certain amount of drugs, a lot of angry people, a lot of small crime," Claude Rondeau, the head of the local gendarmerie, told me then as he sat in his office beneath posters of Zinedine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff, stars of the team that had won the World Cup the previous year. "The kids get together at night. Sometimes they set fire to a car."

Rondeau said that Anelka's parents – a school secretary and a post-office worker, both with origins in Martinique – were good people. "But in these suburbs the boys spend their time in groups, and they feel very rejected by society. They hate police, they hate authority, they attack buses because the drivers wear a uniform. Nicolas was not on the worst side, not a bad boy. But the education in these suburbs had an impact."

He was not talking about the kind of formal education that includes lessons in the history of the Holocaust, part of the standard curriculum of France's schools. Those particular lessons were brought up by the Football Association's lawyer to reinforce the claim that Anelka's use of the quenelle when celebrating his first league goal for West Bromwich Albion in December must have included an element of antisemitism. But if Anelka attended those classes, his school record suggests that he wasn't paying much attention.

Although he spent some of his adolescence in the well appointed surroundings of Clairefontaine, the French football federation's residential academy, in spirit he never really left Trappes. During his years in London, when he was already earning big money, he returned there at every opportunity. "My friends are here, like before," he said. "Some people may say I've changed, but I know it's not true. I never forget anything, above all my roots."

His real education, then, came from his cultural environment. This is a world described in The French Intifada, a book published this week in which Andrew Hussey, the dean of the University of London Institute in Paris, examines France's colonial history in an attempt to explain the unrest among the young people of the banlieues. As the FA's regulatory commissioners struggled to decide whether Anelka's "salute" to his pal Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala contained an antisemitic element, they might have done well to read it.

During several weeks spent in a Trappes-like suburb called Bagneux, Hussey noticed a disturbing phenomenon: "The more time I spent there, the more I began to pick up on casual references to synagogues, Israelis and Jews, like a secret code being revealed. These references would be refracted through the slang of the banlieues. So phrases such as sale juif, sale yid, sale feuj, youpin, youtre, all racist epithets, were widely used. I heard all about the crimes of the Jews, yet it was hard to find anyone who had met a Jewish person. 'We don't need to meet Jews,' I was told by Grégory, a would-be rapper and Muslim. 'We know what they're like.' But that was the problem: nobody did actually know what 'they' were like. It seemed to me that hating Jews – like supporting Arsenal or listening to the rap band NTM – had become a defining motif of identity in the banlieues."

Hussey shows how for the children of north African immigrants, this antisemitism – with its occasional murderous outbursts – has historical roots going much deeper than the Nazi persecution or the Palestinian intifada. Those origins are half-buried in a past with whose specifics few of us are familiar but which provided the fuel for Tribu Ka, an organisation resembling Elijah Mohammad's Nation of Islam, now banned in France, and Kémi Séba, its eloquent and charismatic spokesman, a kind of French Louis Farrakhan. As it happens, Kémi Séba – whose parents are from Benin – is of Anelka's generation: a couple of years younger than the footballer, who turns 35 next week.

Anelka may behave like an idiot sometimes but he is not stupid, and it might still be argued that when he claimed to be ignorant of any possible connection between Dieudonné's quenelle and antisemitism, he was being disingenuous. With a bit more digging, the regulatory commissioners might have uncovered further layers of truth, and applied an appropriate punishment.

But what, really, is to be done about the mindset of a generation of young men – many of them football fanatics, some of them professional footballers – who find it easier to identify with al-Qaida and the Taliban than with their own government? Alienated by official indifference to their existence, and sometimes much worse, they seek their own belief systems, principally in the embrace of Islam, to which Anelka converted 10 years ago. And so they choose a side in a battle that has raged, in various forms, for many centuries, and which once again has the power to reshape the world.

Last summer in Trappes, Claude Rondeau's police station was attacked by Muslims angry that a veiled woman had been subjected to an identity check. All the millions of pounds earned by Anelka in nearly two decades as a professional footballer have not been enough to sever him from those roots or those resentments. The FA are currently deciding whether to appeal against a verdict that found him guilty of an antisemitic act, yet not guilty of antisemitism. But they, and he, are swimming in deep, deep waters, amid the tides of history.

Richard Williams

Jack Wilshere's injury is a 'major blow' for Arsenal, says Arsène Wenger - video

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:29 AM PST

Arsène Wenger bemoans the injury to Jack Wilshere which he described as a 'major blow' to his squad

Norwich City v Stoke City: match preview

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:19 AM PST

These are games Norwich need to get a result from if they are to stay up. Wes Hoolahan made only his sixth start of the season and scored within three minutes against Aston Villa last week so he should get the nod against a Stoke team minus Charlie Adam, who is banned for a stamp on Olivier Giroud. Mark Hughes' team are not safe either and defeat would see them overtaken by Norwich. Alan Smith

Kick-off today 3pm

Venue Carrow Road

Last season Norwich 1 Stoke 0

Referee A Marriner

This season G20, Y62, R5, 3.6 cards per game

Odds H 13-10 A 13-5 D 12-5

Norwich City

Subs from Bunn, Howson, Snodgrass, Redmond, Van Wolfswinkel, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Elmander, Garrido, Whittaker, R Bennett, Becchio

Doubtful Snodgrass (wrist), Yobo (strain), Olsson (shoulder)

Injured Gutíerrez (calf), Turner (hamstring), Fer (hamstring), Bennett (knee) Suspended None

Form LWLDLD Discipline Y44 R2

Leading scorer Hooper 5

Stoke City

Subs from Sorensen, Muniesa, Shotton, Palacios, Odemwingie, Wilkinson, Etherington, Guidetti

Doubtful Odemwingie (calf), Arnautovic (hamstring), Cameron (fitness)

Injured None

Suspended Adam (first of three)

Form WLDDWL

Discipline Y61 R3

Leading scorer Adam 6

The Fiver: QuizUp Against Phil Neville | Jacob Steinberg

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:12 AM PST

Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm, or if your usual copy has stopped arriving

LETTERS OF NOTE

A lot has happened at Manchester United since David Moyes replaced Lord Ferg last year. Starting with the positives, the club still exists, they have managed to attract 56,732 new sponsors and commercial partners in the past three weeks alone, they beat Crystal Palace and Moyes hasn't accidentally referred to them as Manchester City, in stark contrast to incompetent foreigner Manuel Pellegrini, who apparently thinks he's managing United. Ha! Idiot! You wouldn't catch the Fourer making a mistake like that. We're more likely to tie our shoelaces together, write a load of spelling mistakes in are articles, forgot are name and write inconsistently, packing our copy with long, winding, snaking sentences which serve no purpose other than to fill up space on a quiet Friday afternoon, but one thing we will not do is forget our name. That's not how the Eighter rolls and it's not how Moyes rolls.

Unfortunately that's about as good as it gets for United at the moment. Having won the league at a canter last season, performances have deteriorated to the extent that they are languishing in seventh place, behind Tactics Tim's Tottenham. They're on the brink in their Big Cup tie against Olympiakos, having lost 2-0 to a team comprised of players no one has ever heard of and that bloke who's on loan from Arsenal. They've managed to be outwitted by Wayne Rooney, committing themselves to paying £300,000 a week for the next five years to a player whose performance for England against Denmark on Wednesday suggested he really had it in for some poor sod in Row Z. They've done a lot of crossing. They signed Juan Mata and still did a lot of crossing. For a joyous two seconds, they had Mata and Adnan Januzaj in the same midfield, but then decided to go back to the tried-and-trusted crossing. All hail The Chosen One!

On the bright side, Moyes has embraced technology after finally working out how to turn on the iPad he was given for Christmas three years ago. A slow learner, but he gets there in the end, and after spending six solid days playing QuizUp against Phil Neville, Moyes stumbled across an app called Scouting For Dummies, before striking gold when he discovered that you can also write letters on it. Soon he was in his element, firing off letters to all and sundry, reviving the lost art of letter-writing as deftly as he is reviving United's fortunes.

"Dear Mr Sir Alex," began one the Fiver Lawyers would like us to point out we've just made up. "You b@st@rd! You told me this would be easy! Champions by Christmas, you said! I'll get you for this, sitting there in the stands, watching me fail, knowing I'd fail, sitting there, laughing, you and Mick Hucknall, laughing. Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Kind regards, David. PS, please don't let them sack me. When am I coming round for tea again? I promise I won't wear jeans."

And there were more. "Dear Santa Woodward," began another the Fiver Lawyers etc, and so on. we've also just made up. "I have been a very good Moyesiah this season and, if possible, I would like you to sign me Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Victor Anichebe in the summer. Thanks, David."

"Dear Phil," began a third ... Fiver Lawyers ... yadda, yadda, yadda ... "Is your brother Gary available for any work at the moment? Also, can you get us some milk? Ta, Dave."

So it was no surprise to hear that Moyes has written an actual real open letter to United's disgruntled supporters, which should definitely not be interpreted as a desperate plea for their backing. It is, after all, this class and dignity which convinced United that Moyes, not Mourinho, was the perfect man to replace Ferguson. Can you imagine Mourinho writing a letter to fans? Exactly. "While I knew that this job would be a challenge when I took it on, the difficult season we have experienced was not something that I envisaged, which I am sure is the case as well for you supporters – and my players, staff and I are desperate to compensate for that," Moyes said, while Rio Ferdinand mooned his manager behind his back and Robin van Persie looked for Arsene Wenger's number on his phone.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We had an admin error so Michael wasn't registered. I don't know exactly why yet, it's not one I've seen before" – Gareth Southgate explains that Michael Keane was blocked from playing for England U-21s an hour before kick-off. It turns out the FA had registered his (non-identical) twin brother, Will, instead of him.

MONSIEUR, WITH THIS SECOND QUOTE OF THE DAY YOU ARE REALLY SPOILING US

"Surely anything that improves the atmosphere in a Scottish football ground should be encouraged" - Motherwell captain Keith Lasley rails against Hibs decision to ban the club's floor tom drum from Saturday's match between the two sides at Easter Road in the wake of complaints from fans that it is too noisy.

FIVER LETTERS

"Re: the FA scanner (yesterday's Fiver). I imagined it to be some Epson scanner, that damaged the foot further when they held down the lid to produce a photocopy of Jack's foot. Therefore he had photographic evidence that the foot was fine and it was just a bruise. Although with Arsenal's medical staff success rate, they probably took his boot off with a sledge hammer before scanning it" - Dan Hand.

"I have watched from Canada with bemusement the hand-wringing over Alan Pardew's Glasgow handshake. No matter what the hacks at Big Paper claim, Meyler did not 'brush past' Pardew, but pushed him. If this were an ice hockey game, Pardew's response would be considered mandatory. As we raised his name on a banner to the rafters, he would be quickly making a line change [It's a substitution - Fiver Ed] to put a gentleman, defined as the 'enforcer', on the ice to further explain to Mr Meyler that the next time he should find a more polite way to approach the head coach. Ahhhh … finally got that off my chest. Howay the Lads. Hats off to you, Pards" - Allan Barless.

"In response to Thursday's Bits and Bobs regarding Hull City's vice-president threatening to sell the club if he is not allowed to rebrand it: 'Don't let the door hit you on the way out'" - Chris VanDuyn.

"First you confuse 'its' and 'it's'. Then you publish a letter pointing out that fact, but in the same edition confuse 'they're' and 'their'. Your (sic) just toying with us now, aren't you?" - Dale Marsden (and 1,056 others).

"Phillipa Suárez has acute accent? Perhaps we've finally found a Fiver reader worthy of the Guardian Soulmates dating site?" - James Adamson.

"With the greatest of respect can Phillipa (two Ps; two Ls; no acute accent; not related to he who must be nobbled before world cup) Suárez (temporarily) (Fiver Letters passim and ad nauseum) now politely P off?" - John Myles.

Send your letters to the.boss@guardian.co.uk. And if you've nothing better to do you can also tweet the Fiver. Today's winner of our prizeless letter o'the day: Dan Hand.

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BITS AND BOBS

Almost three years after his team were sent down, Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung has suffered the same fate. The businessman has been given a six-year stretch in a Hong Kong Big House after being found guilty of laundering £55m.

Charges have been dropped against three Tottenham Hotspur fans who were facing prosecution for chanting the offensive term "Yid", after the Crown Prosecution Service said the words could not legally be considered "threatening, abusive or insulting" in the circumstances.

David Moyes has joined Mr Roy in criticising the 17,000 bullies who signed a petition to have Tom Cleverley banned from England's World Cup squad, possibly because he's afraid it's only a matter of time before some disgruntled Manchester United fan sets one up to have the Manchester United manager banned from his own club's training ground.

More than two-thirds of women working in football have experienced $exism in the workplace, according to a survey that questioned 661 female coaches, match officials, administrators and others working in football ... but probably not Andy Gray and Richard Keys.

And the Fiver's red-haired, bagpipes-playing, deep-fried Mars bar-munching, single malt-gargling Scottish cousin Shortbread McFiver is planning a trip "doon the road" now that Scotland have confirmed they will play Nigeria in a friendly at Craven Cottage on 28 May.

STILL WANT MORE?

Jacob Steinberg wrote a 2,826-word article on the oratorial witticisms of famous folk without mentioning Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker or Geroge Bernard Shaw once. Find out how in The Joy of Six: Football quotes.

Having had his eardrums burst, his spirit crushed and his soul sapped by the raucous pre-Capital One Cup final spectacle involving a trapeze artist suspended from a giant floating football, Barney Ronay has finally had enough and isn't going to take any more.

In this interview with Fernandinho, excitable journalist Fernando Duarte describes the Brazil and Manchester City midfielder's "very calm storytelling tone". Of course, compared to Fernando Duarte, Basil Fawlty in full meltdown mode has a "very calm storytelling tone".

Spinning newspapers? Tick. Uneaten slice of cake? Tick. Amusing gags at the expense of Olivier Giroud and Mesut Özil? Tick. Catalogue of clever puns? Tick. Please be upstanding for AC Jimbo's European newspaper round-up.

And if you haven't read the latest dispatch from the Fiver's Portuguese-speaking, samba-dancing, favela-dwelling, caipirinha-drinking Brazilian cousin O Fiverão, you can do so here and subscribe to all future editions. It's funny! It's free! It's even more late!